


Being Reassured

by Fricksgirl_32



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Comfort, Gen, Photo Shoot, reassurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 13:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fricksgirl_32/pseuds/Fricksgirl_32
Summary: Brian hadn't fully been himself and Howie was determined to be the big brother Brian needed, not realizing he needed Brian's words of comfort just as much.





	Being Reassured

Brian sighed softly to himself as he and the others looked through the photos they had just finished doing to approve the ones they liked. It had been fun doing a photoshoot at night, something they hadn’t really done before. He was on autopilot as each photo popped onto the screen, waiting for a certain one to pop up. It was one where Nick was looking on while AJ and Howie looked right at the camera, but Brian was looking down. It wasn’t a pose that was asked for like with Nick, Brian truly felt lost even though Kevin had been gone for a few years now and they had one album under their belts, working on the next. 

“Bri, what do you think of this one?” Howie asked, getting the younger man to fully focus on what they were doing. 

Brian saw the photo he was looking for pop and nodded. “Yeah, I really like this one.” 

“I look so pissed there.” Nick grinned. 

The others chuckled and nodded as they continued on. Finally, they made it to the end of the roll before changing and getting ready to head out for something quick to eat. 

“That was actually a lot of fun.” AJ beamed in between bites. 

“It really was, something different we really haven’t done before.” Howie agreed. 

Brian pushed his food around his plate gently, not really hungry. He had really liked the idea of doing a night time shoot, but he was tired and his mind wouldn’t stop running. 

“Frick, are you sure your okay?” Nick asked worriedly, getting the other two’s attention. 

Brian looked up at the three worried face and nodded. “Yeah, I’m just pretty tired.” 

The other three nodded in agreement, but Howie was still worried about him and decided to wait until they got back to the hotel to talk to the younger man. 

Brian said goodnight to the others before going into his room, shutting the door. He stripped his shirt and pants off before falling onto the bed, sighing softly. He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at the ceiling when a soft knock hit his door. 

He wasn’t up for company but he got up, grabbed his pj bottoms, and looked through the peephole seeing Howie on the other side. He unlocked his door and opened it up, worried something was wrong. 

“Hey, everything okay?” Brian asked. 

“Yeah, I just wanted to check on you, I know you’ve been off lately.” Howie replied.  
Brian sighed softly and looked down, he knew the others had caught onto him not fully being himself, his smile not as big as it normally was. He decided to take Howie up on his offer and moved to the side, letting him in. Howie smiled and waited as Brian shut and locked the door back. The two men headed towards the bed and sat down next to each other. 

“So, what’s been going on?” Howie asked. 

Brian bit his lip messing with the string on his pants. “I miss Kev, it’s just not the same.” 

Howie reached over and rubbed the younger man’s back gently. “I know, but we’re making it, we’ve got another album in the works, and the fans are still behind us completely.” 

Brian nodded, rubbing his hand over his face. Howie didn’t push and let the brown haired man take his time. 

“There’s something else too.” Brian said. “It’s still so weird being the second oldest now. I mean, I’ve always been the middle man.” 

Howie chuckled. “It’s not that bad, mean, I feel like I was handed a pretty big pair of shoes to fill once Kev left.” 

Brian grinned. “Kev does have some pretty big feet.” 

Howie let out a hearty laugh, something he sorely needed before calming down. “I seriously needed that.” 

Brian’s smile hadn’t left and nodded, feeling slightly more like his old self. Once the two men had settled down, the seriousness came back. 

“I truly do feel like I’m in pretty big shoes that I can’t fill no matter how hard I’ve tried to step up being the oldest.” Howie confessed softly, looking down. 

“Hey, you’re doing an amazing job.” 

Howie looked up at the other man, his eyes slightly wide. “Really?” 

Brian nodded. “Yeah, mean, you’ve always been an amazing big brother and don’t compare yourself to Kev, you’ve always been the fun big bro.” 

Howie chuckled and nodded. “I just want to make sure you three know I’m here for you all.” 

“And you have very much so, Kev would be so proud of you and how much you have stepped up for us and the group.” 

Howie’s face turned a slight red and smiled. “Thanks Bri.” 

Brian pulled the older man into his arms, hugging Howie tightly. Howie was happy to return the embrace, his body relaxed after their conversation with a renewed sense of determination and motivation to keep them on the path they were on as they kept their head above the waters, treading the waves as Brian had put it. 

The two men pulled away, both smiling happily. Brian let Howie out before closing the door, his smile still on his face. He felt so much better after talking to Howie and knew they would make it, they had gone through so much worse then what they were now and they survived that. 

Brian laid down in his bed, falling asleep with the biggest smile on his face for the first time in months, feeling reassured and comforted by his older brother’s words.


End file.
